Thousands Gather For UH Football Autograph SessionPOSTED: 7:28 am HST December 23,
2007 HONOLULU -- More than 4,300 fans lined up and waited, some waited for more than eight hours, for an hour-long autograph session with the University of Hawaii football team.KITV's Keoki Kerr reported that many who showed up walked away empty-handed as there was not enough time for all 4,300 fans to get an autograph.Thousands of people waited, bringing footballs, helmets, photos and other items to get their favorite players to sign.The folks at the front of the line got there at 3:45 a.m."All I need for Christmas is Colt Brennan," fan Cheryl Manago said.Many of the fans wanted quarterback Colt Brennan's autograph, like Manago and Lia Meyer, of Kaneohe, whose mom snapped a photo of them on Thursday."He stopped his car, and we asked him for a picture, and he got out, and I got to hug him," Meyer said.The Ewa Saints Pop Warner football team did the Haka to pass the time, and at last, the fans streamed in to the UH soccer field, where Brennan and the rest of the team signed autographs.Eventually, security told people there was no chance to get Brennan's signature, and hundreds left disappointed."They knew there was gonna be a huge turnout, and there's a lot of kids here waiting in the rain and the hot sun and hungry, and to give an hour for thousands of people, it's kind of ridiculous. I don't know what the point of it was," fan Pam Perry said.UH said the team could only spare one hour for the session."Well, because the players' schedules were so tight, it was thankful that coach Jones even could find this much time, and the players were willing to do this much for the fans because now, leading up to the Sugar Bowl, they've got to focus on that. They've got practices, constant meetings and things of that sort," UH Athletic Director John McNamara said.Many others who didn't want to speak on camera said they were upset that the UH didn't cut off the lines earlier instead of letting people wait for two or three hours in line, only to get in and have the field closed off a few minutes later, before they were able to get autographs.UH athletic officials said other events are planned for fans to show their appreciation for the Warriors after the Sugar Bowl, but no specific autograph sessions are planned. Copyright 2008 by KITV.com All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. |








